One of the most unique aspects of the Penn State Master of Finance degree program online is the on-campus residency. In this interactive residency, you will work closely with the program faculty to receive hands-on, model-building experience, using a complex simulation tool. You will analyze a range of possible financial risk outcomes and the probabilities that they will occur for any choice of action. These financial modeling tools will be used as an integral part of subsequent courses in the Master of Finance program, and you can benefit greatly from performing these simulations in a live-group format.

The residency experience also allows you to meet face-to-face with your peers for the first time after completing the first four courses together in a virtual environment. The interactions and group assignments during the residency allow you to better network with your fellow classmates to learn from each other's experiences and areas of expertise.

Student Perspectives

Participants in the Master of Finance residency answer what was the best feature of the residency experience?

"Collaborating with the professor was extremely helpful. Meeting classmates will be beneficial for future team projects. I think the residency is vital to learning financial forecasting and modeling, creating and backing up assumptions, and creating Monte Carlo simulations."
— Master of Finance student, class of summer 2014

"Overall, an excellent and "must-have" experience that makes the whole curriculum much more enriching!"
— Master of Finance student, class of summer 2014

The residency occurs just after the start of your fourth course, BUSAD 826. It is held at Penn State's Great Valley Campus near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania running eight hours per day for five days.